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Friday, November 27, 2015

Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) –
In the sports field of the St. Mary School, belonging to the
archdiocese of Nairobi and founded in 1939 by the Felician Sisters,
the Holy Father met with clergy, men and women religious, and
seminarians of Kenya, to whom he addressed an extemporaneous
discourse in his native Spanish, including many expressions and
idioms typical of his homeland Argentina. An interpreter translated
into English, one of Kenya's official languages.

Francis said that he was struck by the
passage in St. Paul's letter in which he says, “And I am sure of
this, that He Who began a good work in you will bring it to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ”, and added, “All of you
were chosen by the Lord; He chose each one of us. He began His work
on the day He looked at us in Baptism, and then later when He looked
at us and said: 'If you wish, come with me'. So we lined up and began
our journey. But it was He Who began the journey, not us. In the
Gospel we read about one of the people Jesus healed, who then wanted
to follow Him. But Jesus told him, 'No'. If we want to follow Jesus
Christ – in the priesthood and or consecrated life – we have to
enter by the door! And the door is Christ! He is the one Who calls,
Who begins, Who does the work. Some people want to enter by the
window. It doesn't work that way. So please, if any of you has
friends who came in by the window, embrace them and tell them it
would be better to leave and go serve God in another way, because a
work which Jesus Himself did not begin, by the door, will never be
brought to completion”.

“There are people who do not know why
God calls them, but they know that He has. Go ahead in peace, God
will let you know why He has called you. Others want to follow the
Lord for some benefit. We remember the mother of James and John, who
said, 'Lord, I beg you, when you cut the cake, give the biggest slice
to my sons. … Let one of them sit at your right and the other at
your left'. We can be tempted to follow Jesus for ambition: ambition
for money or power. All of us can say, 'When I first followed Jesus,
I was not like that'. But it has happened to other people, and little
by little it was sowed in our heart like weeds. In our life as
disciples of Jesus there must be no room for personal ambition, for
money, for worldly importance. We will follow Jesus to the very last
final step of His earthly life, the Cross. He will make sure you rise
again, but you have to keep following Him to the end. And I tell you
this in all seriousness, because the Church is not a business or an a
NGO. The Church is a mystery: the mystery of Jesus Who looks at each
of us and says 'Follow me'”.

“So let this be clear: Jesus is the
one Who calls. … He does not 'canonise' us. We continue to be the
same old sinners. … We are all sinners; starting with me. But
Jesus' tenderness and love keep us going. May He who began a good
work in you bring it to completion. … Do you remember any time in
the Gospel, when the Apostle James wept? Or when one of the other
Apostles wept? Only one wept, the Gospel tells us; he who knew he was
a sinner, so great a sinner that he betrayed his Lord. And when he
realised this, he wept. Then Jesus made him Pope. Who can understand
Jesus? It is a mystery! So never stop weeping. When priests and
religious no longer weep, something is wrong. We need to weep for our
infidelity, for all the pain in our world, for all those people who
are cast aside, the elderly who are abandoned, for children who are
killed, for the things we do not understand. We need to weep when
people ask us, 'Why?'. None of us has all the answers to those
questions. … There are situations in life for which we can only
weep, and look to Jesus on the cross. This is the only answer we have
for certain injustices, certain kinds of pain, certain situations in
life. … Whenever a consecrated man or woman or a priest forgets
Christ crucified, he or she falls into an ugly sin, a sin which
disgusts God; it is the sin of being tepid, lukewarm. ... What else
can I say to you? Never stray from Jesus. In other words, never stop
praying. 'But Father, sometimes it is so tiresome to pray, it wearies
us. It makes us fall asleep...'. So sleep before the Lord: that is
also a way of praying. But stay there, before Him and pray! Do not
stop praying”.

The Holy Father reiterated that “when
we let ourselves be chosen by Jesus, it is to serve: to serve the
People of God, to serve the poorest, the outcast, living on the
fringes of society, to serve children and the elderly. But also to
serve people who are unaware of their own pride and sin; to serve
Jesus in them. Letting ourselves be chosen by Jesus means letting
ourselves be chosen to serve, and not to be served”.

“This is what I wanted to say to you,
what I felt when I heard those words of St. Paul, who trusted that
the One Who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at
the day of Jesus Christ'. A cardinal said to me … that when he goes
to the cemetery and sees the graves of dedicated missionaries, men
and women religious who gave their lives, he wonders, 'Why don't we
canonise this or that one tomorrow?', because they spent their lives
serving others. … Thank you for your courage in following Jesus,
thank you for all the times you realise that you yourselves are
sinners, and thank you for all the tender caresses you give to those
who need them. Thank you for all those times when you helped so many
people die in peace. Thank you for 'burning' your lives in hope.
Thank you for letting yourselves be helped, corrected and forgiven
every day. And as I thank you, I also ask you not to forget to pray
for me, as I need your prayers. Many thanks”.

“I must leave now, as there are
children suffering from cancer whom I wish to greet and comfort. I
thank you, seminarians, whom I have not named but are included in all
that I have said. And if any of you do not have the courage to take
this path, seek another job, consider marrying and having a family.
Thank you”.

Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) –
The Pope's final appointment yesterday afternoon was at the United
Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), the general headquarters of the
United Nations in Africa, instituted by the General Assembly in 1996.
The structure also houses the offices of two United Nations
programmes, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the
UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlement Programme). Around twenty
international and United Nations organisations have their regional
offices for Africa in Nairobi.

Upon arrival, the Pope was welcomed by
the director general of the UNON, Sahle Work Zewde, the executive
director of UNEP Achim Steiner, and the executive director of
UN-Habitat, Joan Clos. Then, accompanied by the director general, he
was invited to plant a tree in the UNON park; as Francis later
emphasised, this is an act charged with symbolic meaning in many
cultures. He then entered the new UNEP building where he pronounced a
discourse before 3,000 people, in which he expressed his hope that
COP 21 may conclude with a “transformational” global agreement
based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equality and
participation, and with three complex and interdependent aims: the
alleviation of the impact of climate change, the fight against
poverty, and the promotion of respect for human dignity. In view of
the imminent 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organisation, to be held in Nairobi, the Holy Father also spoke about
the agreements on intellectual property and access to medicine and
essential healthcare, and also mentioned illegal trafficking in
animals and precious stones, trades which perpetuate poverty and
exclusion.

The following are extensive extracts
from his discourse:

“Planting a tree is first and
foremost an invitation to continue the battle against phenomena like
deforestation and desertification. … Planting a tree is also an
incentive to keep trusting, hoping, and above all working in practice
to reverse all those situations of injustice and deterioration which
we currently experience. … In a few days an important meeting on
climate change will be held in Paris, where the international
community as such will once again confront these issues. It would be
sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to
prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in
order to protect their own plans and projects”.

“COP21 represents an important stage
in the process of developing a new energy system which depends on a
minimal use of fossil fuels, aims at energy efficiency and makes use
of energy sources with little or no carbon content. We are faced
with a great political and economic obligation to rethink and correct
the dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of development.
… For this reason, I express my hope that COP21 will achieve a
global and 'transformational' agreement based on the principles of
solidarity, justice, equality and participation; an agreement which
targets three complex and interdependent goals: lessening the impact
of climate change, fighting poverty and ensuring respect for human
dignity”.

“For all the difficulties involved,
there is a growing 'conviction that our planet is a homeland and that
humanity is one people living in a common home'. No country 'can act
independently of a common responsibility. If we truly desire positive
change, we have to humbly accept our interdependence'. The problem
arises whenever we think of interdependence as a synonym for
domination, or the subjection of some to the interests of others, of
the powerless to the powerful. What is needed is sincere and open
dialogue, with responsible cooperation on the part of all: political
authorities, the scientific community, the business world and civil
society”.

“At the same time we believe that
'human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising
above themselves, choosing again what is good and making a new
start'. This conviction leads us to hope that, whereas the
post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most
irresponsible in history, 'humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first
century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave
responsibilities'”.

“This much-needed change of course
cannot take place without a substantial commitment to education and
training. Nothing will happen unless political and technical
solutions are accompanied by a process of education which proposes
new ways of living. … This calls for an educational process which
fosters in boys and girls, women and men, young people and adults,
the adoption of a culture of care … in place of a culture of waste,
a 'throw-away culture' where people use and discard themselves,
others and the environment. By promoting an 'awareness of our common
origin, of our mutual belonging, and of the future to be shared with
everyone', we will favour the development of new convictions,
attitudes and lifestyles. … We need to be alert to one sad sign of
the 'globalisation of indifference': the fact that we are gradually
growing accustomed to the suffering of others, as if it were
something normal, or even worse, becoming resigned to such extreme
and scandalous kinds of 'using and discarding' and social exclusion
as new forms of slavery, human trafficking, forced labour,
prostitution and trafficking in organs. 'There has been a tragic rise
in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty
aggravated by environmental degradation. They are not recognised by
international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the
lives they have left behind without enjoying any legal protection
whatsoever'”.

“Together with neglect of the
environment, we have witnessed for some time now a rapid process of
urbanisation, which in many cases has unfortunately led to a
'disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities … [where] we
increasingly see the troubling symptoms of a social breakdown which
spawns 'increased violence and a rise in new forms of social
aggression, … a loss of identity', a lack of rootedness and social
anonymity”.

“Here I would offer a word of
encouragement to all those working at local and international levels
to ensure that the process of urbanisation becomes an effective means
for development and integration. This means working to guarantee for
everyone, especially those living in outlying neighbourhoods, the
basic rights to dignified living conditions and to land, lodging and
labour. … The forthcoming Habitat-III Conference, planned for Quito
in October 2016, could be a significant occasion for identifying ways
of responding to these issues”.

“In a few days, Nairobi will host the
10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation. …
While recognising that much has been done in this area, it seems that
we have yet to attain an international system of commerce which is
equitable and completely at the service of the battle against poverty
and exclusion. Commercial relationships between States, as an
indispensable part of relations between peoples, can do as much to
harm the environment as to renew it and preserve it for future
generations”.

“I would especially like to echo the
concern of all those groups engaged in projects of development and
health care – including those religious congregations which serve
the poor and those most excluded – with regard to agreements on
intellectual property and access to medicines and essential health
care. Regional free trade treaties dealing with the protection of
intellectual property, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutics and
biotechnology, should not only maintain intact the powers already
granted to States by multilateral agreements, but should also be a
means for ensuring a minimum of health care and access to basic
treatment for all. Multilateral discussions, for their part, should
allow poorer countries the time, the flexibility and the exceptions
needed for them to comply with trade regulations in an orderly and
relatively smooth manner. Interdependence and the integration of
economies should not bear the least detriment to existing systems of
health care and social security; instead, they should promote their
creation and good functioning. Certain health issues, like the
elimination of malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of so-called
orphan diseases, and neglected sectors of tropical medicine, require
urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or
political interests”.

“Africa offers the world a beauty and
natural richness which inspire praise of the Creator. This patrimony
of Africa and of all mankind is constantly exposed to the risk of
destruction caused by human selfishness of every type and by the
abuse of situations of poverty and exclusion. In the context of
economic relationships between States and between peoples, we cannot
be silent about forms of illegal trafficking which arise in
situations of poverty and in turn lead to greater poverty and
exclusion. Illegal trade in diamonds and precious stones, rare metals
or those of great strategic value, wood, biological material and
animal products, such as ivory trafficking and the relative killing
of elephants, fuels political instability, and fuels organised crime
and terrorism. This situation too is a cry rising up from humanity
and the earth itself, one which needs to be heard by the
international community”.

“Once again I express the support of
the Catholic community, and my own, to continue to pray and work that
the fruits of regional cooperation, expressed today in the African
Union and the many African agreements on commerce, cooperation and
development, may be vigorously pursued and always take into account
the common good of the sons and daughters of this land”.

Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS)
-This morning the Holy Father transferred to the Church of St. Joseph
the Worker, situated in one of the poorest quarters of the city of
Kangemi. “I feel very much at home sharing these moments with
brothers and sisters who, and I am not ashamed to say this, have a
special place in my life and my decisions”, said the Pope to the
inhabitants of the area. “I am here because I want you to know that
your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows, are not
indifferent to me. I realise the difficulties which you experience
daily! How can I not denounce the injustices which you suffer?”

He began by speaking about the wisdom
found in poor neighbourhoods, “'A wisdom which is born of the
stubborn resistance of that which is authentic', from Gospel values
which an opulent society, anaesthetised by unbridled consumption,
would seem to have forgotten. You are able 'to weave bonds of
belonging and togetherness which convert overcrowding into an
experience of community in which the walls of the ego are torn down
and the barriers of selfishness overcome'”.

“The culture of poor neighbourhoods,
steeped in this particular wisdom, 'has very positive traits, which
can offer something to these times in which we live; it is expressed
in values such as solidarity, giving one’s life for others,
preferring birth to death, providing Christian burial to one’s
dead; finding a place for the sick in one’s home, sharing bread
with the hungry (for there is always room for one more seat at the
table), showing patience and strength when faced with great
adversity, and so on'. Values grounded in the fact each human being
is more important than the god of money. Thank you for reminding us
that another type of culture is possible”.

“I want in first place to uphold
these values which you practice, values which are not quoted in the
stock exchange, are not subject to speculation, and have no market
price. I congratulate you, I accompany you and I want you to know
that the Lord never forgets you. The path of Jesus began on the
peripheries, it goes from the poor and with the poor, towards
others”.

“To see these signs of good living
that increase daily in your midst in no way entails a disregard for
the dreadful injustice of urban exclusion. These are wounds inflicted
by minorities who cling to power and wealth, who selfishly squander
while a growing majority is forced to flee to abandoned, filthy and
run-down peripheries”.

“This becomes even worse when we see
the unjust distribution of land (if not in this neighbourhood,
certainly in others) which leads in many cases to entire families
having to pay excessive and unfair rents for utterly unfit housing. I
am also aware of the serious problem posed by faceless 'private
developers' who hoard areas of land and even attempt to appropriate
the playgrounds of your children’s schools. This is what happens
when we forget that 'God gave the earth to the whole human race for
the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favouring
anyone'”.

He emphasised the very serious problem
of the lack of access to infrastructures and basic services. “By
this I mean toilets, sewers, drains, refuse collection, electricity,
roads, as well as schools, hospitals, recreational and sport centres,
studios and workshops for artists and craftsmen. I refer in
particular to access to drinking water. 'Access to safe drinkable
water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to
human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other
human rights. Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who
lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a
life consistent with their inalienable dignity'. To deny a family
water, under any bureaucratic pretext whatsoever, is a great
injustice, especially when one profits from this need”.

“This situation of indifference and
hostility experienced by poor neighbourhoods is aggravated when
violence spreads and criminal organisations, serving economic or
political interests, use children and young people as 'canon fodder'
for their ruthless business affairs. I also appreciate the struggles
of those women who fight heroically to protect their sons and
daughters from these dangers. I ask God that that the authorities may
embark, together with you, upon the path of social inclusion,
education, sport, community action, and the protection of families,
for this is the only guarantee of a peace that is just, authentic and
enduring”.

“These realities which I have just
mentioned are not a random combination of unrelated problems. They
are a consequence of new forms of colonialism which would make
African countries 'parts of a machine, cogs on a gigantic wheel'.
Indeed, countries are frequently pressured to adopt policies typical
of the culture of waste, like those aimed at lowering the birth rate,
which seek 'to legitimise the present model of distribution, where a
minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can
never be universalised'”.

The bishop of Rome went on to propose
“renewed attention to the idea of a respectful urban integration,
as opposed to elimination, paternalism, indifference or mere
containment. We need integrated cities which belong to everyone. We
need to go beyond the mere proclamation of rights which are not
respected in practice, to implementing concrete and systematic
initiatives capable of improving the overall living situation, and
planning new urban developments of good quality for housing future
generations. The social and environmental debt owed to the poor of
cities can be paid by respecting their sacred right to the “three
Ls”: Land, Lodging, Labour. This is not a question of philanthropy;
rather it is a duty incumbent upon all of us”.

He launched an appeal to all
Christians, and their pastors in particular, to renew their
missionary zeal, “to take initiative in the face of so many
situations of injustice, to be involved in their neighbours’
problems, to accompany them in their struggles, to protect the fruits
of their communitarian labour and to celebrate together each victory,
large or small. I realise that you are already doing much, but I ask
to remember this is not just another task; it may instead be the most
important task of all, because 'the Gospel is addressed in a special
way to the poor'”.

“Dear neighbours, dear brothers and
sisters”, he concluded, “let us together pray, work and commit
ourselves to ensuring that every family has dignified housing, access
to drinking water, a toilet, reliable sources of energy for lighting,
cooking and improving their homes; that every neighbourhood has
streets, squares, schools, hospitals, areas for sport, recreation and
art; that basic services are provided to each of you; that your
appeals and your pleas for greater opportunity can be heard; that all
can enjoy the peace and security which they rightfully deserve on the
basis of their infinite human dignity. Mungu awabariki! God bless
you”.

Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) –
After visiting the shantytown of Kangemi, Francis transferred by car
to the Karasani stadium, situated 22 km outside Nairobi, in order to
meet with the young people of Kenya. He gave an extemporaneous
address in Spanish, in the form of answers to questions from those
present, on issues such as tribalism, the recruitment of child
soldiers, and the abandonment of families, and urged them not to give
up when faced with difficulties but instead to consider them as an
opportunity to overcome the situations that gave rise to them,
emphasising the two pillars essential in this respect: education and
work.

After his discourse, to be published
tomorrow, Saturday, the Pope met with the bishops of Kenya in the
stadium and then proceeded to the apostolic nunciature of Nairobi
where he lunched. From there he travelled to the airport, where he
was awaited by President Uhuru Kenyatta, and boarded his flight for
Entebbe, the capital of Uganda, the second country to be visited by
the Pope on his apostolic trip in Africa. This afternoon he is
expected to visit the Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in
his official residence, and will then address the civil and religious
authorities and the diplomatic corps. The Holy Father's day will
conclude with an encounter with catechists and teachers at the shrine
of Munyonyo, where Uganda's first four martyrs were killed in 1886.

- Fr. Hector Vila as bishop of
Whitehorse (area 732,515, population 43,000, Catholics 9,600, priests
6, permanent deacons 2, religious 5), Canada. The bishop-elect was
born in Lima, Peru in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1995. He
studied at the University of Toronto, Canada, and the Redemptoris
Mater seminary in Rome, and has served in pastoral roles in the Roman
parishes of St. Ireneo and St. Patrizio and in the parish of St.
Norbert in Toronto, and is currently rector of the Redemptoris Mater
seminary in Toronto.

- Fr. Emmanuel Nguyen Hong Son as
coadjutor of the diocese of Ba Ria (area 1,988, population 1,427,024,
Catholics 254,302, priests 172, religious 799), Vietnam. The
bishop-elect was born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam in 1952 and was ordained a
priest in 1980. He holds a licentiate in dogmatic theology from the
Institut Catholique de Paris, France, and has served in a number of
pastoral roles in the diocese of Ba Ria, including parish priest,
dean forane, rector of the minor seminary, head of continuing
formation of diocesan clergy, member of the episcopal commission for
the doctrine of the faith. He is currently vicar general of the same
diocese.

Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) –
We inform our readers that, due to the Holy Father's apostolic trip
to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, an extraordinary
edition of the Vatican Information Service bulletin will be published
on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November.